Kurnia Group
Kurnia Asia Berhad Achieved Its Profit Target For FYE 30 June 2005
August 16th, 2005
Petaling Jaya, 16 August 2005 - Kurnia Asia Berhad (KAB) announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter (Q4) and the year ended 30 June 2005 at its Corporate Head Office, Menara Kurnia. KAB is listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia. The company wholly owns Kurnia Insurans (M) Berhad (KIMB), the largest general insurer in Malaysia.
KAB's annual operating revenue, comprising gross premium written and investment income, came in at RM 1.242 billion, comfortably surpassing the forecasted figure of RM 1.206 billion by 2.9%. Profit after tax for the FYE 30 June 2005 stood at RM 153.4 million against the forecasted figure of RM 153.1 million in its prospectus dated 30 December 2004 (Note: KAB was not formed until it acquired KIMB on 5 November 2004).
For the Q4 period, KAB posted a profit before tax of RM 76.0 million compared with RM 42.2 million in the preceding Q3 period ended 31 March 2005. During the same period, KAB turned in a solid performance with a profit after tax of RM 60.0 million compared with RM 25.5 million reported in the preceding quarter. This significant jump in profits for the quarter under review could be attributed to the annual review of claims files and claims control enhancement initiatives.
At KIMB level, the company achieved gross premium income of RM 1.187 billion, outperforming its forecast gross premium figure of RM 1.155 billion by 2.8% in spite of the competitive environment in the general insurance industry. Comparing revenue year-on-year, we have grown by 12.4% from RM 1.056 billion achieved during the year ended 30 June 2004. As a result of its continuous healthy financial performance, KIMB's total assets have increased by an impressive 14.4% from RM 1.67 billion as at 30 June 2004 to RM 1.91 billion as at 30 June 2005.
"For the financial year 2004/05, we have achieved a post-acquisition earnings per share (EPS) of 10.31 Sen and we are happy to announce our intention of paying part of KAB's profit after tax as dividend to our shareholders, as stated in our prospectus, subject to Bank Negara Malaysia's approval" Dato' Adrian Loh, CEO/MD of KAB, commented.
"We believe that the company's performance will further improve in the financial year 2005/06. We have strengthened the management team substantially with new additions to the claims, marketing and investment departments. We have implemented various control measures to improve marketing, claims, management expenses and investment. We have also taken active steps to enhance our risk management as well as sought more effective ways to strengthen business partnerships, such as organizing dialogue sessions with our valued agents and panel of service providers" he added.
On the corporate front, Kurnia Asia Berhad (KURASIA 5097) was included in the widely followed Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc. (MSCI) Malaysia Index on 1 June 2005. This influential global stock benchmark will make Kurnia Asia Berhad more visible to the foreign investors.
Kurnia is the largest general insurer in Malaysia and Southeast Asia with gross premiums exceeding RM 1 billion. It has wide network of 30 branches and more than 3 million policyholders. It is the fastest-growing general insurer offering a wide range of general insurance products and innovative services such as Kurnia Auto Assist and Kurnia Express.